The new year will kick off with the 47th edition of the Dakar Rally, scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia from January 3-17, 2025. It is a 7,700km route that features a mix of dunes, rocky valleys and mountains.
The Dakar Rally is one of the most gruelling tests of man and machine in motorsport. And the latest edition is set to up the ante further, with the opening week featuring both the 48-Hour Chrono and Marathon stages. First introduced this year, the 48-Hour Chrono stage requires competitors to stop at the closest rest area at sunset and survive on their own in secluded areas in the middle of the desert. Those who make it through this will then have to take on the Marathon stages, with no help from support vehicles or mechanics.
The Indian contingent is showing up in full force at Dakar 2025, with participation from four racers. Hero MotoSports also returns as the only Indian team at the event, on the back of a historic second-place finish at the 2024 Dakar Rally.
Hero MotoSports
2024 was a milestone year for Hero MotoSports. It became the first Indian team to score a podium finish at Dakar, thanks to Ross Branch’s second place finish. Moreover, Branch went on to clinch the 2024 World Rally Raid Championship.
The Indian team will be looking to continue this upward trajectory at Dakar 2025 and will have three riders competing in the premier Rally GP class. Branch returns for his third Dakar Rally outing with Hero, and he’ll be joined by Sebastian Buhler and Jose ‘Nacho’ Cornejo.
“Looking ahead to Dakar 2025, the challenge is bigger and the expectations are higher, but we come well prepared. The team is looking in peak shape and we are ready to face any challenge that comes on,” said Hero MotoSports team manager Wolfgang Fischer. “We are entering the 2025 season with a stronger than ever three-rider squad, and our Hero 450 Rally bikes are fine-tuned to conquer even the most gruelling conditions.”
Harith Noah
TVS-backed racer Harith Noah also scripted history at the Dakar Rally earlier this year, with his Rally 2 class victory. “What I took away from it is that a lot of things are possible in life. You just have to be determined. Consistency is really important,” he said.
2025 is set to be his sixth Dakar Rally outing. The Indian will continue racing for the Sherco factory team in the Rally 2 class and his goal remains the same – “I just want ride every day as fast as I can and try to stay on two wheels.”
Ashish Raorane
Ashish Raorane’s journey to Dakar has been very different compared to his compatriots. A Marine Engineer by profession, he started his racing career at the age of 35. Just six years later, he became the first Indian privateer in the Malle Moto (now called ‘Original by Motul’) category, competing without any assistance. That outing ended when he crashed on Day 5. But he returned in 2024, racing for team Xraids Experience. Unfortunately, he crashed out of the 2024 Dakar Rally on Stage 1 itself with a broken collarbone.
But he returns to Dakar for unfinished business, and he’ll once again be riding a KTM 450 Rally Replica for Xraids in the Rally 2 class. “I’m looking forward to Dakar 2025. The recovery was super tough after my crash on Stage 1 of the 2024 Dakar. I think that more than the recovery of the body, the mental side took a little bit longer. You prepare for so long for the Dakar, and it’s all over after a few hours. That’s a hard pill to swallow,” he said.
“I’ve been preparing hard. I did the Baja Aragon and then the Rallye du Maroc. That was really good for my 2025 preparation. I was really happy to get a finish at the end of a very difficult race in Morocco. It makes me a bit more confident.”
Jatin Jain
2025 will be Jatin Jain’s debut outing in the Dakar Rally. He started racing on home soil over 20 years ago, and he’s gone on to take victories in the Indian National Rally Championship and Raid De Himalaya. After gaining experience in international cross-country rallies like the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Mexico’s Sonora Rally and Argentina’s Desafio Ruta 40, he’s now set to take on the challenge of the Dakar Rally.
Jain will also be competing in the Rally 2 class, racing a Kove 450 Rally bike. “I was really inspired by CS Santosh, who pushed me to try out cross-country rallying. I was also lucky enough to have raced many times with Aravind KP and Harith Noah (former and current Dakar competitors). So, I keep in touch with them if I have any questions concerning the Dakar,” said the 46-year-old.
“I wanted to take it easy before doing the Dakar and that’s why I gained experience on many other rallies around the world. I’ll be riding a Kove bike that I was able to race with these last few months, and I feel good with it.”
Sanjay Takale
In a racing career spanning over three decades, Sanjay Takale has collected more than 75 wins on home soil and overseas, including winning the Asia Pacific Rally Championship’s Production Cup in 2013. He’s now set to become the first Indian to compete in a Dakar four-wheeler category.
The 56-year-old will be racing a Toyota Land Cruiser HZJ78 in the Dakar Classic class, with support from French team Compagnie Saharienne. The Dakar Classic class features vehicles manufactured before 2005, and competitors run on a separate route, better suited to the vehicles. And unlike the other classes, where the goal is to complete each stage with the fastest time, Dakar Classic follows a regularity rally (more commonly known as Time-Speed-Distance or TSD) format, where the goal is to complete each stage in a specified time and at a specified average speed.
“Dakar is more than a race – it’s a dream that pushes the limits of human and machine capabilities. Representing India on this unparalleled platform is both a privilege and a responsibility,” said Takale.
Also see:
Hero MotoSports’ Ross Branch wins World Rally Raid Championship